Two New Directors Appointed To Plus SMS Group
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND: Two new Board appointments have been announced within the Plus SMS Holdings Group, the leading
enabler of interactive cross network messaging services to media companies, content providers, retailers, brands and
broadcasters.
Christopher Tiensch, who in June was appointed Chief Executive of the Isle of Man operating subsidiary, Plus SMS
Limited, has been appointed to the Boards of both companies.
Hans Hawinkels, Senior Vice President of Delta International, a Saudi development company, and a Non-Executive Director
of the Madam Tussauds Group, has been appointed to the Board of Plus SMS Limited.
Plus SMS Chairman, Jim Bracknell, says the appointments of Christopher Tiensch and Hans Hawinkels, further strengthens
the already impressive knowledge and experience within the Group, and its Advisory Board which is headed by cornerstone
shareholder and Net Jets Europe Vice Chairman, Rob Hersov.
“Mr Tiensch, who was appointed Chief Executive of Plus SMS Limited in June, is an acknowledged international
telecommunications executive, while Mr Hawinkels, who has held executive positions in Europe, Africa, the Middle East
and Asia, has a strong background in developing and managing businesses providing services to the consumer.”
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Editor’s Notes
• Plus SMS Holdings Limited is listed on the NZAX.
• The Group is the leading enabler of interactive cross network messaging services to media companies, content
providers, retailers, brands and broadcasters.
• Thousands of international short ‘vanity’ codes owned by Plus SMS can be used for marketing product brands,
sports and special events to achieve mass market penetration. Providing immediate international access, these vanity
codes also cover a wide range of brand-named codes in the transportation, entertainment and hospitality industries e.g.
+Taxi, +Bet, +Hotel.
• In June, Plus SMS Limited entered into an agreement for the provision of international messaging services with
Paris-based Mobile 365 Operator Services SAS (Mobile 365). Mobile 365 is a subsidiary of the privately held global
messaging leader, Mobile 365 Inc., based in Chantilly, Virginia. As a result of this agreement, Plus SMS’s text
messaging services will be progressively accessible to customers of mobile operators throughout the world who are part
of the Mobile 365 operator network. The initial deployments will occur in south-east Asia.
• In April, Plus SMS concluded a technical agreement with Hong Kong based Citic Telecom 1616 Ltd, China’s largest
interconnection telecom platform, giving the Plus SMS text messaging products direct access to mobile operators
throughout China, as well as mobile operators in other parts of Asia and around the globe.
• The Gartner Group estimates there are presently some 670 million mobile phone users in the Asia-Pacific region,
with about 53 per cent on pre-paid cards for whom text messaging is the preferred method of communication. At least 200
million text or SMS messages are sent every day in the Philippines alone.
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